Fed-up pensioners living on the outskirts of Coventry say their bus service is worse now than in the Second World War.

People living along Lentons Lane, in Hawkesbury, say their hourly service is "abysmal and atrocious."

The 31a and 31c routes provide public transport to the city centre for people living in Bell Green, Hawkesbury and Walsgrave.

But frustrated pensioners say the well-used service is rarely on time - and often doesn't turn up at all.

Tom Parry, aged 72, of Lentons Lane, a retired finance manager, said: "We are not being unreasonable. The service we have at the moment is abysmal and atrocious. To put it simply, we are at the end of our tether.

"We are not putting up with it anymore. We are prepared to demonstrate or write to Alistair Darling to get this sorted out."

His wife Sheila, aged 71, who has lived in Lentons Lane all her life, added: "It is a worse bus service than it was during the war. In those days, they had to stop at 9pm because of the blackout but at least they would always be on time."

Hawkesbury Residents' Association is campaigning for a 30-minute service for the city suburbs.

They say people living in the area are put off using buses because of the long waits involved and the unreliability. John Warwick, aged 70, a member of the association and a former senior foreman, said: "The service is deteriorating all of the time. All we are trying to get is a half decent bus service for ourselves"

Phil Bateman, communications director for Travel Coventry, said: checks on the Hawkes-bury service indicated that it was affected when there were problems on the nearby M6

"The motorway does impact on the service particularly when there is an accident or delays as motorists look for an alternative route.

"We are monitoring the service and we are looking to do all we can along with the city council to improve public transport and better reliability. To say it was better in World War Two is a slight exaggeration to say the very least."